Monday, April 11, 2005

Rochester police crack down on crime downtown

By JASON HOWE
Democrat Staff Writer


ROCHESTER  Police are cracking down on downtown crime as part of an initiative to clean up the city's heart and improve the quality of business and residential life.

"This is all part of the proactive policing we implemented in the new year. We're now working with CORE (Community Organization for Rochester Enhancement) and the Economic Development Office and will be increasing our foot, bike and motorcycle patrols in that area," Capt. Paul Callaghan said recently.

The patrols are meant to cut down on illegal activity of all sorts, ranging from noise violations and illegal parking to public disturbances and liquor violations, although the early focus will be on areas downtown businesses are most concerned with  vehicles speeding during the day and suspicious activity at night.

Officers are instructed to pay extra attention to dangerous driving and suspicious activity, Lt. Anne Gould said recently.

"This is something we hope will cultivate a better place for residents to bring their families, or for people from out of town to come and enjoy," Gould said.

Mary-Jo Monusky, president of CORE, said she was glad to have the extra attention downtown.

"We teach art classes here, so we have a lot of children coming across the street, as do Kelly's gymnastics and the karate studio, so daytime traffic is a worry, but you want people to feel safe at night too. I think the added presence at night and having officers available will help that," Monusky said.

She hopes that added comfort will help people relax while shopping or dining, and of course, increase business.

The first round of patrols began Friday evening, March 25, and resulted in four drug busts and a slew of citations, Callaghan said, which could go a long way toward sending a message that police will have "zero-tolerance" for law breakers.

The recent drug arrests "are just a tip of what we plan to accomplish," Callaghan said.

Recent weekend patrols focused on the Union Street and Bank of New Hampshire parking lots, where business owners said illegal activity typically took place after dark.

"Our first patrols were extremely successful. Officer (Keith) MacKenzie and (K9) Fina walked through the downtown and hit on four vehicles that Fina indicated were likely to contain drug materials or contraband," Callaghan said.

Police arrested three men and impounded four vehicles during the patrols, according to police records.

Fina identified two other vehicles in the Bank of New Hampshire parking lot, which were subsequently impounded and searched March 27, after police received search warrants for the vehicles.

"Officer Keith MacKenzie and Fina were downtown before it got really cold, but they were on their own. Now that it's warming up, we're getting him right back out there as part of this program," Gould said recently.

Patrol officers will also perform foot patrols whenever they are not otherwise occupied, she added.

"Obviously, calls for service will take precedence, but we're making our best effort," Gould said.

Callaghan said the patrols would continue through the warmer months and into the fall.

"Our goal is always to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Rochester, and in this case, to make the downtown area more attractive and to improve its vitality," Callaghan said.